The House of Representatives has put Federal Government’s property abandoned nationwide at N830 billion.
Ademorin Kuye, chairman, House Ad-hoc Committee investigating Federal Government’s abandoned properties across the country, stated this, yesterday, at the inauguration of the panel, in Abuja.
Kuye explained that the probe of abandoned government property was part of efforts of the House to proffer legislative solutions to the present economic challenges, poverty, infrastructure decline,revenue leakage and corruption confronting the country.
“Considering the present global economic challenge. which is further accentuated by the effect ot the pervasive COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled the nation’s mono product economic reliance on oil, this Ad Hoc Committee will leverage thin rare opportunity to serve as a watershed to cushion the harsh economic realities.”
The lawmaker noted that the panel seeks to achieve this objectives by consciously ascertaining the existence, location and current use of Federal Government properties across the country, so as to ensure that the government gets maximum financial benefits from them.
It is on record that some of the properties are being used by individuals and corporate bodies without remitting any revenue while their managers in some instances have not accounted tor the revenue yield.
“According to a conservative estimate put together by the Nigerian Society of Builders, the value at these Federal Government abandoned properties in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu. Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna and other cities is projected at N8308bn.
“Expert say the potential economic loss at the National Stadium. Surulere alone between 2004 and now is about N52.6bn.
“Available facts also reveal that in addition to those properties, which were hurriedly abandoned due to the Federal Government’s relocation to Abuja in 1990, there are still in existence many other properties such as buildings, vehicles, machines e.t.c. which are littered within and outside the country. in addition to those earlier highlighted above, as a result of the commercialisation and privatisation exercise of the Federal Government,” Kuye stated.
